In which a city of translucent light and entertainment, Apatia stood tall renowned as a place where one would keep their lovers. However it was of no warning when tragedy struck, explosions resounding through the roots of skyscrapers, causing one of the tall apartment buildings to fall in a devastating crash. On that day, it was reported that there was more than a dozen of casualties, pets and elites alike.
Orphe Zavi was in distraught. As the head of the security not only in Eos tower but also Midas, he had sent hundreds of his drones and rescue men to help ease the numbers and clear away the rubble so that anyone trapped could be retrieved, alive or not. The full investigation will not be allowed to proceed as long as there are still people being pulled out of the rubble.
He frowned in disgust, wondering if terrorist around Midas had started to move again.
It had been long since the last terrorist attacks, the latest recorded being the explosion of Dana-Bahn a year ago, which Raoul had insisted to be shushed up. Jupiter had no qualms about the gag order so the other blondies had complied, but of course, Orphe had his doubts, even worse when he noticed Iason Mink's absence for a year, only returning when he was reported to have a new body. As if that wasn't enough, the pet that the head of the syndicate was so obsessed about before, was no where to be found.
Of course, Orphe had often questioned as to why a blondy like Iason Mink would choose to play with a filth of the slums was beyond him. Until now, he had kept quiet about it, and seeing how Iason himself had not mentioned anything about his pet had made him choose to hold his tongue and not pursue that question any further.
But now, with the explosion in Apatia, Orphe dreaded that the events were somehow connected. He frowned as he went through the documents from his terminal, processing it as fast as a blondy could manage. There wasn't a single mention about what happened in Dana-Bahn. Why was that? Why had Raoul insisted that all documents related be erased?
Down in Apatia, Orphe wasn't the only person to be drowned in confusion and doubts. The citizen gathered with curiosity and tongues begun to wag. Some raised the possibility of the explosion being connected to the events at Dana-Bahn a year ago. But this, this would be different. Unlike Dana-Bahn which was reported to be zero-causalities, this building that exploded contained many residents who had lived there when the explosion happened. The elites would want answers, not to mentioned that Apatia was a known place for them to keep and hide away their pets that they do not fancy to be kept in Tanagura.
The citizens could only stand there and watch, elites alike while the rescue mission took place, some of them noticing a little queer piece that drew their attention away to a building next to the site of the rubble. This building, unlike the other had manage to stand tall, even with the impact of the explosion shattering most of it's windows. But there, on a slate of wall, was a graffiti of vibrant colours, which in the middle was a picture of a skull, so realistic it was that it seemed that the deceased was staring back at them with it's gaping eye holes and it's grinning jaw.
Some who saw shivered, feeling the cold air against the nape of their neck, wondering if the little piece of art would be any significant to the case.
Meanwhile, back in Guy's place, Riki sank into the couch at the corner of the room, setting a bottle of stout fresh from the cooling box on the coffee table. He pulled out his data slate, which Katze had graciously loaned to him to ease his job and checked for the news. There wasn't much reported about the explosion in Apatia, only that the casualties are still unknown and the rescue mission is still taking place. However, in the comments of the news thread implored Riki's attention, where someone had left a comment, asking if anyone had seen the graffiti of a skull on a nearby wall.
It was insignificant when it comes to the explosion that had happened but Riki recalled back what Katze had mentioned in the office.
They left graffiti of skulls in their wake, maybe even real ones.
But Skullz was nothing but a group of brats gathered for a show of power in Ceres. It would take alot of guts for them to actually be involved in the bombing in Apatia. Even more, these brats, to Riki would just sit in the gutter and drown in their useless power struggle to even mind about what is happening in Midas, unless they were going there for a joy ride, to risk pick pocketing credit cards from the rich, just for the thrill of it, they would very well stay away from the fangs of Midas.
Once again, he pulled out the terminal on his wrist and dialled for Katze, who picked up at the first ring with a very irritated face.
"The bombing in Apatia-" Riki started before getting interrupted
"Yes, if you think that it's the Skullz, then I have taken note of it," Katze snapped "I have seen the messages and it's natural for me to have seen the graffiti with my office so near to Apatia, Riki,"
Taken aback, the mongrel discussed the possibility of the Ceres gang being involved. Katze frowned, reminding him about how the brats of Ceres would normally just sit aback and cower instead of causing such a large scale nuisance in a city outside of Ceres.
"Well in any case, what I said earlier is still in effect, Riki," Katze reminded him "Stay clear, the last thing I want on my list is Raoul dragging me away because I hid a curious mongrel that was meant to have die consumed by the flames of Dana-Bahn,"
Riki complied and quickly cut off the call, evident that his 'superior' had been caught in the middle of the chaos in the black market, which had of course threw into an uproar thanks to the explosion. whatever it is, for now, all Riki could do is wait in the darkness for the truth to come out.
His thoughts were interrupted however, when he heard the lock at the door dislodging itself and Guy filtering in, his clothes in obvious rags and dirt in his face.
Riki got up, surprised. "What happened?"
"The explosion in Apatia," Guy dusted himself and took of his coat, throwing it into the corner of the room "I was nearly caught in the tunnel,"
Why would Guy be in the tunnel at that time too? Riki was tempted to ask, but seeing how Guy now works in the black market as well, he hold his tongue. Down there, in the underground, all information is confidential, unless you would want your clients to wring your guts out for leaking confidential information, one would normally keep quiet about their businesses in the dark world. The younger one could only stare at Guy, contemplating to ask or not to.
Undoubtedly, Guy could still read his face like an open book. "Yes, I was there for business," He muttered and pat the other, signalling him to relax "I'm fine and don't worry there is no way I could be involved in that explosion,"
Riki stared after him. "I didn't say you could be involved..." He replied, although of course there was still the possibility, considering how Guy had manage to turn Dana-Bahn into ashes.
Riki rested back on the couch, suddenly noting Guy's scent all over the leather cover. Guy had slept on the couch during Riki's free-loading, insisting him to take the bed instead. Riki had of course, refused but slowly complied to it.
From the corner of his eye, Guy watched his ex-leader gulping down the contents of the stout bottle in his hand. It has been a few weeks since Riki stayed over. Guy had been home only once in awhile, avoiding the urge to return home so that he could lay eyes on Riki. He was only home today due to the worry that overtook him in the tunnel, when he remembered that the area that collapsed was the exact path that Riki always take to work. He could swear that his heart could drop with relieve when he found Riki safe and sound in his room.
Of course, he knew that he had no right to worry about Riki, who graciously seem to put their conflict in the past to rest. Not even once had he mentioned about what happened that fateful day a year ago, to which Guy was very, eternally grateful. He had undoubtedly done terrible things to Riki. Yet, this could not sedate the longing he still had for Riki, like a bottle of gas that had it's cap loose.
Every part of Riki's body seem to called upon him and it took a large amount of energy to not comply. Finally, all he could do is opt to stay away from the house he had agreed to let Riki stayed over in, despite how they had always shared one in the past together.
"The mongrel," Iason Mink muttered into the screen "I trust that he is alright?"
"Stubbornly alive, my lord," Was Katze's short reply. The question had slipped in while Katze reported to his blondy master of the incidents in the Black Market that had been caused the explosion in Apatia. However, the evident change of relief in Iason Mink's face was hard to miss. "He had thankfully, left the tunnel in time before the impact of the explosion hit the tunnel, jumping straight to investigations in his own ways, I might say," Katze continued. Seeing the relieve on his master's face was surprising enough. By now, he was convince that Riki had not really been completely erased out of Iason's being. Finally, he dared himself to ask the question that he had held back since Iason first contacted him about Riki.
"Forgive me, master, as this is not in my place to ask," He started "But I am curious as to what a mongrel such as Riki had to arouse such attention from you, my lord,"
Iason paused, his sapphire eyes seem to pierced at Katze, the question was unexpected. Furthermore, it was also a question that the blondy had seemed to constantly ask himself, wondering why was he so convinced that a mongrel from the dump like Ceres, above all, be related to the gaps of his empty memories. Yet somehow, something in him was screaming for him to keep his tabs on Riki. But as the days progressed, he grew more and more interested in the mongrel, curious at the course of action Riki would chose when faced with a problem in his work.
Admittedly, thanks to Riki, many of the conflicts within the black market was solved quickly and disposed of, actions that Katze would not think of was initiated instead by Riki, impressing even the blondy himself.
"A year ago, Katze," Iason started "I had stopped contacting you, yet you remained loyal to me when I returned, even managed to keep your job steady in my absence,"
"I have received orders, sir," Katze replied, knowing full well what had actually happened to Iason. He had kept the black Market running thanks to Raoul's command.
"Indeed, I could've guessed that Raoul was behind this, yet why I would wake up in a new body and incomplete memories was beyond me," Iason frowned. Katze was surprised that Iason was discussing this with him. It was a strange leap in the relationship he had with his master, which seemed in the past years to be solely, and strictly master and slave.
But Iason frowned, and soon turned the topic away, unwilling to bring it any further than he already had. Soon, they were discussing about how best to patch the problems in the black market, of course, Riki being one part of the solutions.
"I look forward to meet him," Iason suddenly said, taking Katze by surprise. He glanced at his master, pausing for a moment, before nodding in reply. "Yes, my lord, I will make the suitable arrangement,"
"Don't bother," was all Iason's reply "I will see to it when the time comes,"
Katze paused again, taking only a second before he bowed and gave his usual reply of respect as the call cut off.
He was ordered to be on standby while the elites get to the root of the problem, strictly minding his own business in the underground and try to keep it as calm as possible. There was two things that lingered in the ex-furniture's mind however. One was the evident interest that Iason had seemed to develop for Riki, which was a really good start, and the other, being the involvement of now famous Ceres gang, Skullz, in the explosion.
Orphe walked into Raoul Am's lab, going as far as the biochemist allowed him to. Raoul busied himself across the room, occasionally grabbing test tubes on the table with strange liquids of every known colour to Orphe. He frowned at the experiment on the table, a deformed creature of sort, no bigger than his palm, though he concluded to not even attempt to ask about it.
Raoul finally stopped in his tracks, pulling off the gloves he had on and disposing it in a bin.
"If this is about the explosion in Apatia, here is my say: it has nothing to do with me," Raoul snapped as he walked to his desk, picking up his data slate. Orphe rolled his eyes, he wasn't here for an interrogation...well at least it wasn't about what happened in Apatia. Everyone knows Raoul is more of a lab-person. If there is any reason to blow up dozens of pets, it would be a very bored Gideon Lagat or Aisha Rozen, who always seem so cunning to slip past any defence or security that Orphe set up, though both of course, seemed impossible too.
"I'm here to inquire about Dana-Bahn," Orphe snapped straight to the point. Raoul paused, startled "You reported a year ago that the explosion in Dana-Bahn which also brought casualties to Neal Darts was the involvement of terrorist,"
"I very well did," Raoul frowned, sweeping a lock of blonde curl out of his face
"Yet why, was no arrest being made?" Orphe questioned, to which Raoul seemed to frowned in reply.
"Would it be easier if I admit that the culprit was impossible to track?" Raoul replied
"It is impossible for that, because in the records there was no action taken at all," Orphe insisted "There is also the question of Iason Mink disappearing for a year, to which Jupiter had insisted us to shut up about it but I am not going to keep out of this, Raoul Am, I demand an answer or else the case in Apatia is going to hit a wall too!" The blondy had cut Raoul off when he tried to interrupt him. The stare Orphe gave to Raoul was so intense it would sent a normal person to their feet, but of course, it had no effect on Raoul Am, the blondy second in command right after Iason.
Raoul let the silence linger as he studied the other, quietly developing a plan within him.
"If you want a capture," He finally whispered "Seek out the mongrel that Iason Mink was so crazily obsessed about, the mongrel that had seen the face of death and escaped, bending every rules known to men just so he could remain breathing."
The air around them was tensed when Raoul finally let it slipped.
"Mongrel pet?" Orphe frowned, the name had been a taboo to be raised around Raoul, and banned from even mentioning around Iason. The pet from the slums that Iason Mink, the head of the blondies and the favorite of Jupiter had lusted for, causing a plunge of his career. "The one named Riki?"
"Exactly the one named Riki," Raoul spat out with malice, the hatred he felt for Riki was far too deep to comprehend. Ever since Jupiter's revealed to him that the filth was very much alive, he had sent man all over Ceres, much to their disgust, to keep an eye out for the mongrel but his efforts was a waste as Riki was strangely smart enough to avoid the watchful eyes of his men. He had felt like a fool to missed out on the capture of Riki, allowing Katze to easily tricked him.
It was not like him at all, a blondy that is careful in all he does was so easily tricked, fooled and toyed by a mongrel, a filth born from the gutter. Oh how he longed to drag Katze in and torture the ex-furniture until every last bit of information was squeezed out of that liar, but his hands are tied, fearing that any action would not only raised more questions from Iason, but completely shattering that frail bond they had which Raoul had treasured as friendship.
"I had assumed that Iason had disposed of him," if that mongrel was involved in the events of Dana-Bahn...and if he was alive, could it be that Apatia was also caused by him too? Orphe had his doubts.
"Don't be a fool, Orphe," Raoul snapped "If Iason would even bring the same mongrel back from Ceres and allow him to exist as his pet, bending the rules to his whim just so he could make sure that Riki, who is well over the qualifications of being pet to a blondy such as him, would you seriously believe that Iason would 'dispose' of so easily after all the efforts he had placed in that filth?"
As Orphe contemplate about the possibility of such, Raoul turned away. Here it is, the perfect reason to have Riki dragged in. The bombing may or may not relate to that pet, but it was a chance that Raoul intend to cease to erase the problem, once and for all. The matter about Katze could also be brought in, further allowing Raoul the upper hand.
"If you want your answer, then seek out that mongrel pet and his little companions,"
Here it comes! I had fun writing this chapter~ The next one should be out soon enough. Any way, as usual, reviews are very much appreciated, thank you~~
